But few of today's imaginative ideas would have made it onto drawing boards without cork's competition from screw-top bottle caps, plastic stoppers and aluminum Tetra Paks.

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The basic design is the same -- it's a chunky slab of thick, ribbed, soft-touch plastic and rubber, with a sizable chrome screw holding the backplate in place.

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He twists one into a plastic block, and moments later a graph on the laptop screen shows the screw's tension holding steady, even when jostled.

FORBES: Magazine Article

Plastic creeps away from the pressure, sliding down the threads so that even a tightened screw loosens almost instantly.

FORBES: Magazine Article